Why fashion should act now to legislate living wages in the supply chain – Drapers

On Tuesday, non-profit organisation Fashion Revolution launched the Good Clothes, Fair Pay campaign calling for the European Commission to pass legislation protecting living wages for garment workers.

If enacted, the legislation would require brands and retailers which have garments passing through the EU to assess wages in their own supply chains, put in place plans to close the gap between actual and living wages and publicly disclose their progress. Although no longer part of the EU, the legislation would still apply to UK retailers exporting to the EU - the bloc is still the UK's largest trading partner, accounting for almost half (46%) of the UK's total trade.

Last week, Fashion Revolutionslatest Fashion Transparency Index found that, despite more brands than ever before in the indexs history disclosing their first-tier suppliers (48%), only 4% of major fashion brands agreed to publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage. Although the underpayment of textile workers is most often seen as endemic to textile factories in South-East Asia, the problem also exists in the UK, with more than half (56%) of Leicesters garment workers being paid below minimum wage, according to research by the Garment & Textile Workers Trust.

As a European Citizens Initiative (ECI), Good Clothes, Fair Pay requires one million signatures from EU citizens by 19 July 2023 in order to be considered by EU policymakers. Every two months over the 12-month period, Fashion Revolution will be focusing on different themes affecting garment factory workers in order to educate people through its social media and communications channels on topics ranging from the need for better purchasing practices to the fashion industry's colonial past.

Drapers spoke to Fashion Revolution policy and research coordinators Ciara Barry and Delphine Williot on the impact of garment worker wages on climate change, child labour and the cost of living crisis.

Ciara Barry: Most of the people who make our clothes do not earn enough to meet their basic needs. Some recent research shows us about 45% gap between what they take home and what would constitute a living wage [source: The Industry We Want, February 2022]. Overtime is paid at a slight premium but still not at a living wage rate. That's where they make their money. These workers are working 60+ hour weeks often, and despite that, they're not able to meet their basic needs: have access to decent food, decent housing, healthcare. Some even struggle to send their children to school. Theyre not only money-poor but they're also time-poor. What that means is they then can't participate as citizens and can't protest [their conditions] they just dont have the capacity to do so.

Fashion Revolution policy and research coordinators Ciara Barry (far left) and Delphine Williot (far right) at 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Delphine Williot: Paying living wage is also an incredibly important tool to stop child labour. If a family, [whether it be] two parents or a single mother, are working gruelling hours cannot even afford to provide for the family, thats going to be a massive push for putting their children into work as well. I don't think any parent would want to take their kids out of school and make them work instead of providing them with an education. But when it comes down to it, ultimately, it's a question of survival.

CB: The EU is largest importer of clothes in the world and one the biggest fashion consumer markets [source: WTO, World Statistical Review 2021]. It has absolutely the scope and the responsibility to make changes. If we're going to make a serious impact on this national legislation, doing it country by country is not the best way to go [because] global supply chains cross borders [and] continents. Legislating in one region of a country or just one country can actually sometimes incentivise this race to the bottom where [the businesses move to] the deregulated neighbouring countries that doesn't help the workers. If we do at EU level, where clothes are imported, we think this is a really ground breaking way to do it. Sadly, the UK is not in the EU. However, basically all UK brands want to sell into the EU market and therefore they have to comply [with EU laws].

DW: When doing the research [for the Good Clothes, Fair Pay campaign], no matter the political party, we're seeing conservatives, liberals, any type of party or any type of politician supporting the abolition of child labour. We really want to highlight the connection between child labour and poverty wages because we've been waiting and waiting and waiting for voluntary measures to actually translate into action. But as you can tell from our data, voluntary measures are simply not enough.

DW: For the first time in years, we're finally seeing legislation trying to regulate the fashion industry: [such as] the EU Minimum Wage Directive [the first EU legislation that aims to directly ensure adequate minimum wages, as well as strengthen collective bargaining of workers, expected to be adopted in September 2022] and the EU Textile Strategy [which aims to stop overproduction and overconsumption of textiles, adopted in March 2022]. We're seeing that there is, for the first time, a greater interest to legislate the fashion industry. And so we thought it was a perfect time to launch a living wage campaign. We've been waiting for so long for voluntary measures [from retailers and brands]. We absolutely need to regulate the fashion industry when it comes to wages.

CB: We are also in a climate crisis. It's 40 degrees celsius in London at the moment and we have less than eight years until we reach climate tipping points that are irreversible. Paying workers living wages in the fashion supply chain is one of the most effective things you can do to slow down the fashion industry.

DW: Suppliers are pressured to produce more with less time and less money, ultimately leading to overproduction and the waste crisis we're seeing today.

CB:Oxfam research shows that the labour cost is such a minority makeup - in the cost of a T-shirt, its [between] 1-3% [of the final retail price].

DW: We need to make sure that brands are absorbing this cost because ultimately, brands are already contributing to a massive wealth gap [between] CEO, executive and garment workers' pay within the fashion industry. Ultimately, we really want to showcase that the fashion industry is a huge contributor to wealth inequality and this needs to stop and be addressed now. We need to reconsider the way the fashion industry is built, and we need to ensure that there is no sustainable business without fair pay. Ultimately, if a business tells you that they can't afford to increase the wages of their garment workers, then ultimately this business should not be in existence. It doesn't make sense to build up an entire mechanism where you're not paying your garment workers fairly while asking them to produce and churn out so many clothes.

CB: [Good Clothes, Fair Pay] is a 12-month campaign and we have to get one million signatures [from EU citizens during that time period]. In July, our theme is Money, Fashion, Power: the inequality and the power dynamics in fashion that put workers at the bottom, [beneath] suppliers and fashion brands that hold all the power and profits. In August, we're going to focus on living wages, women's rights and why this legislation is particularly empowering to women. In September, we're going to talk about the impacts workers saw during Covid, which are obviously horrific, but also debunking the myths of minimum pay. During COP27 [the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference scheduled to take place on 7-18 November 2022], we'll be talking about living wages, purchasing practices and overproduction [coinciding] with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In January, we're going to really focus on poverty wages and colonialism [that the] fashion industry is built on. In March, we're going to talk about protecting at-risk groups: migrant workers who are obviously at most at risk of modern day slavery, debt bondage and recruitment fees. In May, were going to pass the mic to the affected stakeholders: [garment] worker testimony, basically.

DW: Anyone who has an EU ID or passport - they don't need to be EU residents. For instance, I'm Belgian, but I don't actually need to live in Belgium in order to sign my name.

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Why fashion should act now to legislate living wages in the supply chain - Drapers